Golden State Warriors: All-Decade Team for the 2010’s
Head Coach: Steve Kerr
The Golden State Warriors have had three coaches this decade. But really only one should be considered for the All-Decade Squad.
While Mark Jackson was venerated in the early 2010s for his emphasis on defense, the front office made the tough decision to cut ties with him in favor of TNT anchor and former Chicago Bull, Steve Kerr.
It was a bold move for both parties. The Warriors were gambling on someone with no coaching experience. Steve Kerr, meanwhile, was gambling on choosing the Golden State coaching job over the one offered from the New York Knicks.
Both sides made the right decision.
In his coaching career, Steve Kerr has a 322-88 record — a .785 regular-season win-loss percentage to go along with a .733 playoff win-loss percentage.
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Another way to look at it: Steve Kerr has taken his team to the NBA Finals every single year that he’s been a coach.
A lot of that can be attributed to his uber-talented roster, sure, but he was able to do something that no other coach was able to do for the Warriors. And it shouldn’t be discredited.
He’s assembled a culture that has allowed for other players to want to play with Golden State. It’s what lured Kevin Durant in. It’s what lured DeMarcus Cousins in. It’s what’s allowed players to thrive.
There have been a number of players who have come in as projects and have come out of the Golden State system with a new sheen — JaVale McGee, Alfonzo McKinnie, Alec Burks. These weren’t accidents.
Steve Kerr’s coaching has to be appreciated on a case-by-case basis. His out of bounds plays have proven to be consistently elite. His adjustments in the playoffs have repeatedly changed the tide.
In 2016, Steve Kerr won NBA Coach of the Year honors after leading his team to a 73-9 record — surpassing his Chicago Bulls record of 72 wins.
He will be criticized this year as the microscope is focused on him while he attempts to polish a group of misfits into something worth trotting out next season when the core returns.
Next. Sacramento Kings: All-Decade Team for the 2010s. dark
But he is, without a doubt, the glue that has held this system together. Without Steve Kerr, perhaps the dynasty may never have had the reign that it did.